PRIVATE sector debt in Malaysia is on the rise as business expansion continues to be fuelled by debt accumulation over the years.

By end-2018, total credit to the Malaysian private non-financial sector had touched RM1.94 trillion. This is a sharp increase from just RM906bil in 2009, according to the Bank for International Settlements’ data.

As a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), total credit to the Malaysian private non-financial sector stood at 134% in 2018. In comparison, at the height of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, it was at 167.2% – an all-time high.

The surging private sector debt is cause for concern, along with the high level of federal government and household debt in Malaysia.

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